Mind Sports South Africa's (MSSA) blog on competitive gaming in South Africa from proto-computer gaming all the way through to the most modern. For more about MSSA go to: https://www.facebook.com/mindsportssa/

Tuesday, 15 April 2014

From club to national federation to international federation

With the debate surrounding what is, or
isn't, a national federation, it is important for people to know how
federations are formed.

Although I will be writing in general
terms, the basics apply to practically every national
federation.

It all starts with the individual!

All you
need is one individual who wants to play with other individuals.
Eventually through a sense of community, the individuals playing
together form a society to reflect their common interest in the game,
and as such a club is born!

Then the newly formed club looks
for other clubs to play against. Should they not find any, the club
either stagnates and eventually dies, or it boldly, and unabashedly,
promotes the growth of other clubs.

Once the clubs have
created a framework for competition, the clubs generally come
together to form the federation.

As such, the club always precedes the
federation.

The MSSA (https://www.facebook.com/mindsportssa)
is no different. Some of the member clubs date back as far as the
1970's (Wits Wargames Club which was founded in 1979) whereas the
federation was only founded in 1985.

This is true for swimming
as well where clubs in what was known as the Transvaal were founded
as early as 1884, but the Transvaal Swimming Association was only
founded in 1902.

Even in football, a British club like
Cambridge was founded in 1846, the Football Association (English) was only founded in 1863 whereas the international federation
(FIFA) was only constituted in 1904.

However, what is
important to note is that at no time does government become involved
in the creation of these national sport bodies.

In fact
government involvement is decidedly frowned upon and discouraged by
the international controlling bodies.

So, just like any other
sport, eSports has done its time in developing the national
federation with the first clubs being formed in the 1970's, the
national federation being formed in 1985, and the international
federation (the IeSF) being formally constituted in 2008.

Few
gamers will understand the amount of work that it has taken a small
group of dedicated people to get eSports to this level, and many of
those who have poured their hearts and efforts into this project may
very well be forgotten over time. However, the legacy of having a
non-profit structure that is dedicated to the promotion of the games
and a structure that is dedicated to serving the gamer will endure
for many decades to come!